Annual performance spotlights

Areas for improvement

Further explanatory narrative for those measures where targets were not met or where performance was not improving.

Connect outcome	Measure	Target	Performance	Explanations/narrative
Education and learning	Percentage of children and young people attending secondary school	Not met	Improving	Although the figure to date falls below the target set there is an improvement on the 2023/24 figure.
Children and young people	Pupils entering positive destinations	Not met	Not improving	3,625 young people left school in 2023-24 and the positive destination rate decreased slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 96.4% from 96.9% the previous year. South Lanarkshire has maintained a positive rate higher than the national rate of National average 95.7%. Discussions are taking place with all schools and Skills Development Scotland to discuss those young people in negative destinations and identify any lessons learned.
Children and young people	Gap in attendance between secondary pupils from the least and most deprived areas	Not met	Not improving	Although the figure recorded shows a very slight increase in the attendance gap at this stage for this period, wider trend analysis shows improvement in attendance overall. The introduction of a new attendance policy alongside the “Every School Day Matters” campaign is expected to contribute to meaningful and sustainable progress in this measure.
Our economy	Number of unemployed people accessing further education or training	Met	Not improving	804 participants have accessed further education or training via the Employability Team since April 2024 to March 2025, exceeding the target of 400. The 2024-25 target was set following the restructure of the Employability Service. In addition to this the service was going through the process of establishing new and additional programmes. These programmes were set up to receive referrals more quickly than anticipated. This, coupled with the establishment of effective referral routes and a high level of demand, has led to significant over achievement against this target.
Our economy	Increased value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of Economic Development intervention	Met	Not improving	In 2023/24, the sales figure was derived exclusively from additional sales from Business Support Grants. Although lower than in 2023/24, the £8.532m achieved in 2024/25 is taken from business grant applications and demonstrates the significant impact our grant scheme has on supporting local businesses.
Communities and environment	Percentage of total household waste that is recycled	Not met	Not improving	This measure is reported per calendar year and reflects the performance from January to December 2024. The annual household waste recycling figure is below target. The inability to now recycle Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) means that this type of waste must be incinerated. This is having an impact on the amount of bulky waste that is recycled. The full extent of the impact is not yet known, but information will be provided when available.To help move closer to the 50% target, Waste Services are doing the following: Extending recycling services at flatted properties to include those that have typically had low participation rates. Supported by the "0.28 million of Scottish Government Recycling Improvement Fund investment over two years, the Council has procured new bespoke communal recycling bins. The bin roll out is now complete, however, the full impact on recycling rates and resident behaviour will not be available until the end of 2025. Progress will be monitored going forward. The Waste Education Team continue to work with residents across South Lanarkshire to improve recycling knowledge and participation. By offering guidance and engaging directly with communities they aim to support long-term improvements in sustainable waste management. Actively monitoring changes in national legislation and guidance, as outlined in the Waste Policy Update Report presented to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in March 2025. The Council is committed to aligning with forthcoming Scottish Government requirements and embedding best practice to increase recycling rates
Communities and environment	Percentage of our road network that should be considered for maintenance treatment (Road Condition Index)	Not met	Not improving	This figure is derived from the Scottish Collaboration of Transportation Specialists (SCOTS) Road Condition Index (RCI) survey which is undertaken each year. The target of 31.9% for 2023/25 is based on the results for the period 2022/24. The actual figure for 2023/25 of 32.5% indicates a regression of 0.6% of the amount of our road network in an amber or red status. Deterioration is also showing across individual road categories to a similar extent. It is hoped that following the budget announcement in February 2025 to increase capital funding we will be able to stabilise the condition of the network in the coming year.
Health and wellbeing	Percentage of care at home hours reduced through Home Assessment Team	Met	Not improving	In 2024-25, care packages were reduced on average by 29% following Home Assessment Team (HAT) intervention. In the same period, the service supported over 1,000 episodes of care; and 50% of service users who completed HAT intervention either required reduced or no support following intervention. Performance has fallen slightly short of the 30% annual target. A review of the service model and criteria for the service is currently underway which is expected to result in changes to pathways, increasing the flow and capacity through HAT which will have a positive impact on performance going forward.
Health and wellbeing	Local authority and private Welfare guardianship visits completed on time	Met	Not improving	Performance in this measure has reduced from 92% in 2023-24 to 88% in 2024-25, however, performance remains above the revised 75% annual target. A revised Standard Operating Procedure for Adults with Incapacity and Supervising Officer Visits was implemented at the beginning of the 2024-25 reporting year, which reduced the target from 90% to 75%, in recognition of the increasing numbers of adults with Welfare Guardianship Orders and resultant increased demand on the service.
Housing and Land	% of lets to urgent homeless (UH) households	Met	Not improving	Although target was exceeded and performance reduced by 0.4%, the operating context in relation to the prevention of homelessness remains extremely challenging. The prevailing socio-economic conditions continued to adversely impact upon the ability to prevent homelessness during 2024-25. This trend has been mirrored nationally.
Housing and Land	% of new tenancies sustained for more than a year for all lets	Met	Not improving	Although target exceeded, performance reduced by 0.3% in 2024-25. This indicator continues to be management focus and is reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator on an annual basis.